ANALYSIS - The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released the results of a two year investigation into seafood labelling, writes Lucy Towers, TheFishSite Editor.

The investigation has found that 85 per cent of seafood tested was properly labeled, demonstrating that the problem of mislabelling is not as widespread as first thought.

The FDA also targeted types of seafood most often suspected to be mislabelled. The identified mislabelling was found in two species, snappers and groupers, which represent less than two per cent of total seafood sales.

“This extensive federal analysis brings the challenge of mislabelling into a much clearer focus,” said John Connelly, President of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI).

Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation has received approval for its acquisition of the Norwegian fish farming company Cermaq.

All the conditions for the voluntary offer for the shares of Cermaq have been met and that settlement is to take place within two weeks.

After publishing poor results for the third quarter, Cermaq CEO Jon Hindar commented:"I am confident that Cermaq as a part of Mitsubishi Corporation will be well positioned to grow and also benefit from the strengths and expertise of Mitsubishi Corporation."

India is to set up its first hospital dedicated to treating abnormalities and diseases in fish.

The hospital is expected to be built in Kolkata by mid-2015 and will be equipped with 50 glass aquariums and 25 circular water tanks, each with a capacity of 500 litres.

The hospital will also have a separate well-equipped pathological lab to diagnose various fish diseases.

Three oyster farms in Jersey have become the first in the world to enter assessment against the Aquaculture Stewardship Council's Bivalves Standard for responsible aquaculture.

In other news, the European Parliament has voted to confirm Karmenu Vella as the new EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Mr Vella will begin his five-year term on 1 November.